X-ray apparatus



M. MORRISON Aug. 9, 1932.

mm! APPARATUS Fild April 15, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1' Aug. 9, 1932.

M. MORRISON X-RAY APPARATUS Filed April 13, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug.9, 1932. M. MORRISON 1,370,959

X-RAY APPARATUS Filed April 13, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 6' J, "an?? J 6 M.MORRISON X-RAY APPARATUS we: April 13, 1925 Aug. 9, 1932.

4 sh ets-sheet 4 j 2:) ing structure, for the tube.

Patented Aug; 9, 1932 partur- OFFICE noun-oar) uoamsou, or cnrcneo,rumors, a ssrduon, BY mnsrm ASSIGNMENTS; 'ro

' wrzs'rmcnousux-RAY oour nmr, Inc, A coarona'rro'n or DELAWARE x-LRAYAPPARATUS Application filed April 18, 1925.. Serialll'o. 22,865.

My present invention relates to the use and manipulation of X-ray tubesin practical radiograp'hic, diagnostic and therapeutic use and has as ageneral object an improved con- 5 struction which is entirely safe fromelectrical shock without some of the inherent dis: advantages ofapparatus in the prior art.

More specifically, my invention relates to a system of electricalconductors and a sup m porting structure for X ray tubes; Among thespecific objects of my'invention are ;"first, to provide an absolutelyshockproof appa ratusj second," to' pr'ovide astructure which permits ofthe source of'high voltage supply current forthe tube to bc mountedseparate- 1y from the tube and still retain the shock.- proof qualities;and third, toprovide a structure which may be integrally a system ofhigh voltageco'nductors and mechanical support- I v .Further and otherob ectsWillbe in part pointed out and part obvious-t0 thoseskilled inthe art to which my invention appertains, upon digesting the followingspecification and studyng drawings herein referred to.

I attain these objects by the construction p disclosed in theaccompanying drawings,

which illustrate some practical embodiments of my invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a generalview, partly in elevation andpartly-in section, of one of the complete embodiments of my invention,and Figures 2, 4, and ,6 are-detailed embodimentswhich may form a partof Fig ure 1. Figure 3 is a cross section of Figure 2 taken through-thelines 3, Figure 5 is a.' cross section taken through Figure 4 parallelto the plane of the pa er, Figure7 is across section of Figure 6 .ta enthrough the, line 7.

hvantageous or even the combination of my filed November 15,1923.

. In"v the prior art attempts" to construct X-ray tube, apparatus whichwould be entirely shockproof during operation, has al- June 9, 1922;633,712filedfApril 21, .1923; 669,315 filed October'18, -1923, and74,927

ways resulted in structures in which the X-ray tube is mounted-integrally 'with the high voltage transformer or some very closelyrelated arrangement. These structures serve reasonably well where theydo not have to be supported or suspended in a space for manipulationaround about the human body.v

Attempts to construct very small transform- .ers and combine them withX-ray tubes integrally and support this, combined structure by someframework so that the tube may be manipulated about the patient, hasalways resulted in a very unsatisfactory structure from a practicalstandpoint, in that the very smallest dimensions and weight which may beused in the high tension transformer produce a heavy mass which tends tooscillate in pendulum fashion at the end of the supporting structure,causing blurring of details in the X-rayshadowgraphs made, and thereforerender-mg them 1n many cases useless so far as interpretation 1Sconcerned.

Further in-the prior art attempts to sepaf rate the tube and the sourceof exciting high "Z'IQPOtQIItial has always resolved itself intocomlicated structure for guiding and trying to hold out of the Way thedangerous high volt- ,age conductors which lead the high-voltage cuggentfrom the source of potential to the 1:11 i

In the device herein described, I combine the supporting structure andthe system of high voltage conductors into an integral structure, andnotonly thereby make a safe and effective means for insulating the hi hvoltage conductors but also attain a simp e and strong supportingstructure for the tube.

Obviously I may in some. cases find the addition of some mechanicalframework ad- In Figure 1, I illustrate a specific structure 7 which isnot complete in the most minute details but sufficiently complete toillustrate an embodiment of, my invention, when particu larly; appliedto dental X-ray work, and in the figure, 1 is a primary support whichmay be screwed to 'thewall or formed as a part of the so-called dentalunits which are used in v sulated bushing 9 to the X-ray tube 10.

dentists ofiices, and which in general contain or have attached theretopractically all of the mechanical apparatus used by the dentist.

- In this way I obviate the necessity of an es? pecially large orexpensive supporting structure which would otherwise be required. 2 1s ahigh voltage transformer which may be a transformer alone or combinedwith a rectifierl In the illustration I have shown the outline of atransformer already fully described in my patent application 669,315,filed Qctober 18, 1923. e transformer 2 swivels about a vertical axis 3which gives one degree;

- of freedom to the system as a whole.

er tank and operated at ground potential.

The above ground potential high-voltage conductor emerging from thetransformer is illustrated by the rod 4 which is surrounded by aninsulating bushing 5, which 1s in turn surrounded by a grounded shield6. The high voltage conductor 4 is led into and through an insulatingjoint 7 hereinafter described and thence through one or more elements ofconductors, insulated bushin and ground shields such as just describethrough and to a second insulating joint 8, which may be similar tojoint 7, and thence through an m- X-ray tube 10., and in general theshield around it, has been described in the last referred to patent aplication and, therefore, will not be descri d in detail here. The X-raytube 10 may be surrounded by a grounded shield 11 which may act not onlyas a protection against high voltage, but also as a rotection againststray X-rays when desire In some cases the material may be translucentat an area where the- X-rays emerge from the shield, such as thelocation 12 and o aque to the X-rays elsewhere.

it will observed that with three degrees of freedom, a system comprisingsuch a jointed structure may turn into any desired osition. Obviously,the transformer 2 nee not be inte al with the primary supportdescribedfiiut may be located at any convenient place.

Referring to Fi res 2 and 3, I shall now describe one set of oints whichI may employ at 7 and 8 inFigure 1. The high tension conductor,insulated bushin and grounded shield in this figure are num red asbefore.

to a ball and socket joint 13. Concentric with this ball and socketjoint 13 is a second ball and socket joint 14 connected to the groundshield 6, and the radius of curvature of the external surface of balland socket joint The high voltage conductor 4 is brought out "i 13 is ofsuch a value that when positioned concentrically with the inner surfaceof the ball and socket 14, together with the difference between the tworadii of curvatures, that spark-over does not occur between these twovsurfaces during use of the tube at operating but this will not causeconfusion among those skilled in the art.

Figure 3 is a cross section of Figure 2, taken through the linesindicated and does not require particular description.

I do not limit myself ,to tion in these joints, such a s-alr, and such.as may be used in the embodiment of my invention illustrated in detailin Figures 2 and 3, but also find I can use oil-insulation withconsiderable success in specific cases.

ures 2 and 3 with oil, I find as a more practical embodiment of myinvention a 11 uid insulating joint, such as that illustrate in Figures4 and 5. The joint permits of less expensive construction and is moreeifective in making it liquid-tight. The high voltage conductor,insulating bushing and ground shield bear the same numbers as before,but

instead of the concentric ball and socket oints, I utilize a flexibleoil container 15 ous insulawhich. is shown in the section in Figure 5havin an outer case 16, with a liquid seal at 17 he d tight by clampingdevice 18. The chamber 19 is filled with a liquid insulating boundtogether by a flexible coupling 20. This form of joint produces quitea-satisfactory structure and somewhat smaller in prac; tice than thatillustrated in Figures 2 and 3.'

The 'oint illustrated in Fi res 4 and 5 obvious y may be substituted inposition of the joints 7 and'8 in Figure 1. j 1

Since I do not limit myself to the particular kind of joint utilized inmy invention, I illustrate a-third structure employing solid insulationfor the joints 7 and 8, Figure 1. This third embodiment is shown inFigures 6 and 7 The high voltage conductors, insulated bushings and thegrounded shield bear res - 1. Rather than fill the joint illustrated inFigliar medium and the two ends of conductors 4 are savanna the samenumbers as before. In this articular embodiment the high voltage conuctor 4 is run entirely through the oint 21, said high voltage conductorbeing separated at 22, so that it may turn about an axis through thejoint without producing mechanical stress in the conductor. The groundshield 6 in this joint is develo (1 into or made electrically a part ofa housing 23, which is provided with flanges 24' and shown in Flgures 6and 7 These flanges are also provided with means for allowing them toturn with reference to each other. Such a structure, for instance, maybe one employing slots 26 with bolts 27, to hold the flanges together,thus allowing the tube-housing halves to turn with reference to eachother, andeach half to take with it such other parts as may be aflixedthereto.

The insulation of this joint is provided by usin solid material 28 and29, and by interleaving it or by the use of annular barriers such as 30and 31, to provide suflicient high voltaige insulation between the highvoltage conductor 4 and ground shield 6. Two or more of any of the abovedescribed joints may be used as a part of the structure illustrated inFigure 1.

As will be appreciated, I have not limited myself to the precise detailsof structure to be employed in the practical embodiment of my invention.but have disclosed a class of electrical joints; utilizing, first,gaseous; sec- 0nd, liquid: and third, solid insulation, which have beendescribed to be used in conjunction with certain other elements whichform a description of my inventiombut the scope of vwhich will be betterunderstood from the following claims. I

What I claim is: e

L Ajointed conductor for X-ray tube circuits "comprising two internalconductor members fixed to an internal ball and socket joint, each saidinternal conductor member surrounded by an external conductor member andinsulated therefrom, the two said external conductor members being fixedto an external hollow ball and socket joint coni i sulated therefrom,the two said external con centric with the aforesaid ball and socketjointand spaced therefrom.

2. A jointed conductor for X-ray tube circuits comprising two 'internalconductor members fixed to a common internal flexible joint having arounded contour, each said internal conductor member being surrounded byan external conductor member and in--;

ductor members being fixed to a common external hollow flexible jointhaving a rounded internal surface and concentric with the aforesaidinternal flexible joint, said internal and external flexible jointshaving'a substantial air-gap therebetween, whereby the formation ofcorona between the opposed surfaces of the said internal and externaljoint is substantially prevented at operating volt es thereof.

3. an X-ray device, an X-ray tube and a primary support, said tube andsaid sup-' port being connected by a jointed conductor coxgprising twointernal conductor members fix to a common internal flexiblejoint, eachsaid internal conductor member surrounded by an external conductormember and insulated therefrom, the two said external conductor membersbeing fixed to a common external hollow flexible joint concentric withthe aforesaid internal joint, the said internal and external flexiblejoints having a substantial air-ggp therebetween.

'4. In an wray 1 device, the combination of an X-ray tube and a holdertherefor, means for supporting said holder comprising a tubular section,a swivel joint connecting said section to said holder, an electricconductor internally concentric with said tubular section and insulatedtherefrom, a

swivel joint for said electric conductor disposed internally of saidfirst mentioned swivel joint and spaced therefrom to provide asubstantial air-gap therebetween.

5. In an X ray device the combination of- .an X'ray tube and a holdertherefor, a supadjacent section, said last mentioned swivel joints beingdisposed internally of said first mentioned swivel joints and s acedtherefrom to provide asubstantial air-gap therebetween. i

'6. In an X-ray device, the combination of an X-ray-tube and a holdertherefor, a supj port for said holder comprising an outer groundedconductor, a ball and socket joint connecting said outer conductor tosaid hold er and to said tube, an inner conductor concentric with saidouter conductor and insulated therefrom, a ball and socket jointflonnecting said inner conductor to said tube at oint and provided witha substantial airgap between each of said ball and socket oints. 7

7. In an X-ray device, the combination of an X-ray tube and a holdertherefor, a Support-for said holder comprising an outer conductor, aswivel joint connecting said outer conductor-to said holder and to saidtube, an inner conductor concentric with said outer conductor andinsulated therefrom, a swivel joint connectin said inner conductor tosaid tube disposed internally of said first mentioned swivel joint androportionally spaced therefrom, relative to t e voltages at ed axiallyofsaid outer ball and sock which the tube is designed to operate, that theformation of corona therebetwe'en is substantially, revente'di;

nation with'an -ray tube and a holder therefor of a support for saidholder comprising ,a plurality ,of grounjded metallic sections pivotallyconnected to each other, a high tension source of ener v for said X-ratube remotely disposed-1t erefrom, a plura ity of; conductorsconcentrically disposed internally of said-metallic sections andinsulated there-j rom,;said: conductors being pivotally- 0011-, I nectedto each other, said pivotal connections, v -.i

being co-axially dis osed relative to the pivoted connections '0 saidmetallic sections,

said-metallic sections and said conductors being arranged ;;to transmitenergy from said source to said X-ray tube and the respective pivotedconnections ofsaid'sections and'said conductors being sufficientlyinsulated from each other to -.prevent. formation of coronaduring-operation of said X-ray tube; I

9; In ashock "proof X-ray unit the combination of an'X-ray-tube andametallic holder therefor, means forsupporting said holder.

comprisinga-plurality o grounded metallic sections pivotally connectedtogether, a conductor internally concentric with each of said sections,the, conductor of'each of said sections being piyotally. connected tothe con- 'ductor of'the' adjacent section and said last mentionedpivotal-,.'connections being c0- axially disposed-ywith respect tothepivotal connections 'of-zsaidsections and insulated from said sections.a

- .Inktestimony whereof, I

'. signature this 8th day'of April, 1925. 1

- "MONT-FORD MORRISON.

8. Ina s ock roof X-ray unit the-combihereunto afiix my

